"Inkling’s technology delivers interactive textbooks that include the ability to collaborate, add multimedia and communicate within content. The startup adds another layer to online textbooks by adding 3-D objects, video, quizzes, and even social interaction within the content. Inkling’s sync technology lets students collaborate in real time by sharing their notes and highlights with one another. And students can see comments from their friends and professors right alongside their own notes." Via TechCrunch

Highlighting is all well and good, but (a) it's a crappy study technique and (b) useless in math-type stuff, for example, where you really want to be able to sketch.

I'm gonna pull out a generic "studies show" here, but seriously, studies show that handwriting notes is better for learning/committing to memory than even typing them. And highlighters should be banned. :P

I'm all for new creative ways for learning, and collaboration is a big part of that, but there's the risk of the illusion of "better learning" while in fact making students more passive. Maybe the handwriting results are only because that's what we've grown accustomed to, and maybe we'll evolve to even think differently, and therefore something will eventually turn out to be better than handwriting. I'm all for figuring out what that is. But I'm convinced that anything that encourages highlighting (because handwriting is awkward on ipad, and because virtual keyboard isn't much better, so seriously, highlighting is what *I* would do rather than struggle with those interfaces) isn't it.

For the record, I do like the interactive quizzes thing, and I like systems that allow you to watch what the teacher is doing live, or extra notes the teacher has included in something. But I'm not ready to give up a pen just yet.

I agree with Sarah. When I take notes, I notate around the page in such a way as to make a picture that I associate with the subject that I am taking notes on. Not only is is a tad more entertaining for me, but it helps me retain information a lot better than just following along and highlighting. I do, however, like where Inkling is taking things, just so they don't forget the notes as well.

Sarah11918 I feel where you are coming from, I have a stack of handwritten journals on my desk at any given time, this is one of the reasons i love the Edge.. But when you are developing a application you go with the market and the market is all apple all touch....

Sarah11918 I feel where you are coming from, I have a stack of handwritten journals on my desk at any given time, this is one of the reasons i love the Edge.. But when you are developing and application you go with the market and the market is all apple all touch....

That is why I am so interested in the HTC View from Sprint. It has an app called Scribe on it. Looks very useful!

Highlighting is all well and good, but (a) it's a crappy study technique and (b) useless in math-type stuff, for example, where you really want to be able to sketch.

I'm gonna pull out a generic "studies show" here, but seriously, studies show that handwriting notes is better for learning/committing to memory than even typing them. And highlighters should be banned. :P

I'm all for new creative ways for learning, and collaboration is a big part of that, but there's the risk of the illusion of "better learning" while in fact making students more passive. Maybe the handwriting results are only because that's what we've grown accustomed to, and maybe we'll evolve to even think differently, and therefore something will eventually turn out to be better than handwriting. I'm all for figuring out what that is. But I'm convinced that anything that encourages highlighting (because handwriting is awkward on ipad, and because virtual keyboard isn't much better, so seriously, highlighting is what *I* would do rather than struggle with those interfaces) isn't it.

For the record, I do like the interactive quizzes thing, and I like systems that allow you to watch what the teacher is doing live, or extra notes the teacher has included in something. But I'm not ready to give up a pen just yet.

Agreed!
My students who bring a laptop to class and just type their notes (or worse, just look at the powerpoint slides and "follow along") while we lecture do significantly worse than their counterparts that take handwritten notes.

Agreed!
My students who bring a laptop to class and just type their notes (or worse, just look at the powerpoint slides and "follow along") while we lecture do significantly worse than their counterparts that take handwritten notes.

I do a lot of Dev and IT work for ALT and Homeschooler's and that is a recurring theme..

when you are developing a application you go with the market and the market is all apple all touch....

Oh, I understand. It's not the developers' fault. You're obviously at the mercy of not only the market wishes (flashy means learning is easy/fun, don'tcha know, and heaven forbid we have to put any THOUGHT into our learning) but also at the hardware limitations of the device. If you only really have a touch input, then I think it compromises a lot of thinking. Don't get me wrong, smarter people than I should be able to figure this out someday, but for example, budding engineers need to use tools (screwdrivers etc.) to take things apart and see how they work or building materials to put things together.

I think you lose something when you point and click at lego pieces instead of actually building with lego. It may be better than no lego at all, but I think too often we think, "Great, with this app, we don't need to bother with those troublesome lego pieces! And everyone can play with lego, not just kids who have it! It will take up so much less room, and we won't lose pieces, and we can have a never ending supply..." Maybe these kids would be better off with just rocks from the forest than a lego app, you know? And, I think this is what we have to guard against in ed. tech.

I also volunteer in the alt. ed/homeschooling crowd, mostly as the guidance counselor they don't have easy access to, not being at a school.